Not too long ago our Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has extolled the virtues of Asian values. Looking around at what has happened in the country in recent years and months, I am

not sure if any of us, or he, can still defend so-called 'Asian values'.

If you care to read wider in last weekend's Australian Financial Review on July 26 and 27, the myths about Asian or Malaysian values propounded by our great PM has been debunked. We should be ashamed but we knew it all along, so who was the PM kidding about Asian values?

With the breakdown of law and order vis-a-vis crime against women and society, can someone please offer some intelligent suggestions instead of shifting the blame onto the government, structural changes in the workplace, school, the influence of television violence, etc.

Good values are nurtured not in-born. There is the Chinese saying: "Once a tree is crooked as a sapling, it will never grow straight".

Teach your kids to respect others - God, woman, minorities, animals and maybe our country will be a better place to live in. Do not expect the school to do this for you especially if you have children. Th quality of our lives depend on you, parents!